Sports Digest: Sonia O'Sullivan will find out tomorrow morning if she'll get to compete in next month's Commonwealth Games for Australia.
The decision now rests with the Australian selectors after O'Sullivan finished second to Eloise Wellings in the 5,000-metres trials in Sydney on Saturday, but there are four other athletes in contention.
O'Sullivan might have done just enough to get the nod. She slipped inside the B-standard of 15 minutes 45 seconds by just 0.76 of a second when chasing home Wellings, who broke clear in the last five laps to win in 15:28.72.
Wellings is certain be to be selected, but also qualified is 1,500-metre champion Sarah Jamieson (15:29.88) and steeplechaser Victoria Mitchell (15:36.13), while 10,000-metre champion Benita Johnson is also hoping to gain selection in the shorter distance.
Meanwhile, on Saturday night Eamon Coghlan, the Chairman of the Boards watched his 17-year-old son John struggle to an eighth-place finish in his Madison Square Garden debut in the Boys High School Mile.
John Coghlan had, it turned out, run in the throes of an asthma attack. He had forgotten to bring his own inhaler, and, wary of using someone else's medication, had spurned the offer of a spare from a New York coach just before the race.
It was a miscalculation for which Coghlan would pay dearly, as he plainly struggled from the outset despite a dawdling pace.
"I felt like I was breathing sand all the way around," said Coghlan as he desperately gasped for air after the race.
The boys' mile was won by pre-race favourite Dan McManamon in 4:17.18, with Coghlan clocking 4:28.76.
In the evening's main event, Kenya's Bernard Lagat won his fourth Wanamaker Mile, clocking 3:56.95, with Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele a good four and a half seconds up the track.
Lagat is now three short of the seven Coghlan won between 1977 and 1987.
McCann grabs fourth in mountains of Malaysia
David McCann took what is arguably his best career result yesterday when he placed an excellent fourth on the mountainous third stage of the Malaysia Tour de Langkawi, writes Shane Stokes.
After approximately 50 kilometres of near-continuous climbing, the Giant Asia rider crossed the line 32 seconds behind stage winner Saul Raisin (Credit Agricole) and David George (South Africa), and just 15 seconds behind third-placed Darren Lill (South Africa).
McCann had been part of a 24-man breakaway group which went clear 44 kilometres into the 150.6-kilometre stage. He rode strongly on the day's climbs, the hors category Kg Raja and the category one Brinchang, riding away from many of his breakaway companions on the latter ascent and taking that fine placing.
Had McCann not missed out on Friday's crucial breakaway, he would have been second overall to the new race leader David George. He is now 17th overall, eight minutes and four seconds adrift, and will be aiming for another strong ride on tomorrow's gruelling mountain stage to the Genting Highlands.
McCann's team-mate Paul Griffin rode bravely yesterday, finishing a solid 34th despite a lingering injury to his leg. He found the early stages difficult due to a bad fall he had in the recent Tour of Thailand, but appears to be responding to a course of anti-inflammatories.
Griffin is 34th overall.
Donnelly hat-trick
Eugene Donnelly and Paul Kiely in a Toyota Corolla WRC made it a hat-trick of wins in the weekend's Galway International Rally, writes Brian Foley.
With just three stages to run, the gap between Donnelly and Tim McNulty in a Subaru WRC was 28 seconds. The dilemma facing McNulty was to settle for a safe second or go for broke.
Whether he made that choice or made just a simple error is immaterial as he crashed out on SS14, and, with the pressure off, a delighted Donnelly drove into Galway yesterday evening as winner for the third successive year and leader of the Pirelli Tarmac Championship.
McNulty and co-driver Anthony Nestor were unhurt although the car suffered some damage
Kürten up to ninth
Jessica Kürten jumped up nine places to ninth in the western European league World Cup standings with a fourth-place finish in Saturday night's French qualifier in Bordeaux, writes Grania Willis.
Kürten, now ranked second in the world, was one of nine through to the timed decider, but her early target proved vulnerable and she was eventually relegated by Italy's Juan Carlos Garcia, Switzerland's Gregoire Oberson and Sweden's Helena Lundback.
Cian O'Connor, who missed the cut in Saturday's World Cup with two down on Echo Beach, made amends when finishing third in yesterday accumulator with Casper. Compatriot Kürten was ninth with Castle Forbes Ivy.
